Born Yesterday

So, this is what has been keeping me so busy these last few weeks.

(I tried to embed something from youtube, but because it's widescreen, I can't make it fit on my blog without covering things up. Maybe someone out there knows what I'm doing wrong.)

You may notice that I'm not in the video. That's because I have a pretty tiny part. But I've still had a lot of fun, and I've really enjoyed being involved in the show. Interestingly, this company is one I worked with right out of high school, those many years ago. (Ok, so not that many.) It's a lot of fun to work with some of these folks again, and also to meet many new actors working in Denver.

We open tomorrow, the 29th, and run for a full month. It's a great show, so you should definitely try and catch it if you're in the Denver area.

*Pictures are property of our lighting designer, Brian Miller.*

To purchase tickets visit www.thisisspotlight.org. Yay!

Family and Adventure

I meant to post this much sooner. The previously mentioned excuses still apply.

But now...

The long-awaited conclusion of:

Our Vacation!

When we last left our heroes, they were making their way to where few have traveled before: Marshall, Arkansas.

Not much happens in the small town of Marshall, except that each year it is taken over by my family as we all gather for a reunion.

Matt and I took our time on the long drive out, stopping to visit a small candy store from Matt's youth:


And to have a nice picnic lunch:


When we finally made it to my grandparents' house, we were greeted by the welcoming comittee:

I was scared.

Matt and I were some of the first family members to get in, so we got my grandparents to ourselves for awhile. It was a good chance to chat before all the hubbub started.

We decided it had been too long since our last hike, so on Thursday morning we headed out to local wilderness around the Buffalo River.

It was an easy hike, but it was very humid. And the trail was covered in spider webs. I'm easily freaked out by things like this, but Matt was very gentlemanly. He found a "spider stick," and used it to clear the path. I'm glad it was him and not me.

The trail took us to an old homestead. Matt's so tall he had to duck through all the doors as we were exploring.

View of the Buffalo River.

A butterfly. Pretty.

While the hike was most definitely the easiest we'd had this year, we finished the sweatiest we'd been all summer. The humidity made it feel like we were hiking in a rain forest. But it was nice to get out.

Later that evening, my mom arrived with my sister and the kiddos. Immediately all focus moved to my baby niece.

But that's ok. She's pretty darn cute, so I understand. And because my sister never posts on her blog anymore, I feel obligated to share these adorable pictures.

Baby.

At my favorite Country Store and Restaurant: Ferguson's.

Friday morning, Matt and I kidnapped my niece and set out for an adventure. Hannah had been left behind by her older sister, who had an opportunity to take a trip to Disney World without her. We thought Hannah should get to have a little special fun, too. So we went canoeing!

Excited to set out!

On the river.

A couple in front of us tipped there canoe so Matt, being the nice guy he is, got in the river to help them recover it. I'm glad we didn't tip.

Action shot.

We stopped for a while to swim and have a snack. Matt and the kid swam out to a big rock.

Pretty.

After we made it back safely.

We managed to keep our canoe upright, and we left with only mild tan-lines (I hate sunburns), so it was a successful trip! And a lot of fun!

With all the exciting things we'd been doing, we could almost forget that we still had a big family reunion on Saturday. Family kept pouring in, and it was great to see everyone again.

Baby, with my cousin.

Playing horseshoes. My dad showed up after the reunion had already started (he had to fly in later than the rest of us), but he got there just in time for a game on one of the worst horseshoe pits I've seen. But it was still fun.

View from the cabin we stayed in.

One of the coolest thing about my family reunions is the music. We have so many musicians in my family that each year, they all bring out their instruments (and voices) and have a little "jam session." I don't join in that often, but I'm a really good listener.

Daddy and Grandpa.

Unfortunately, we had to start our two-day drive home Saturday afternoon in order to be back to work on Monday. But after our long week, we were ready to be back at our house with our cats.

On the way home, we took the time to enjoy one last Kansas treat.

Ah, Carlos O'Kelly's.

Fun trip, but being home is pretty good, too.

Friends and Such

Wow! What a week! We returned from our little vacation on Sunday night, and I've been going and going ever since. I went back to school Monday morning, and I've had rehearsals for an upcoming show every night this week. So unfortunately, this post is way overdue. But life happens!

In a time long, long ago, Matt and I took a vacation.

After a beautiful vow renewal and a great weekend spent with Matt's family, we had to be on our way to our other exciting destinations. But first, we couldn't be in Ark City without visiting one of our favorite places: Jerry's. You may remember it from here.

Matt, facing one of life's most difficult questions: "Which delicious Jerry's concoction should I eat first?"

Finally, on Sunday morning, we were on our way to our next stop: my grandparents' house.

When I was attending college in Emporia, Kansas, I spent a lot of my weekends visiting my grandparents. Doing laundry, getting some good home cooking, and watching cable; it was my home away from home. After three and a half years of seeing them frequently, it's been sad that we're so far away now. So I love an opportunity to spend some time visiting!

My grandma made a delicious Sunday meal that we shared with my aunt and uncle (who we also don't get to see enough for my liking), and we spent a lot of time chatting and catching up on the "goings-on." It was a nice visit, if it was a little too short!

Grandma and Grandpa

On Monday morning we were on our way again, to Medicine Lodge.

If you know anything about Kansas towns, you might wonder why we were headed to the tiny, tiny town of Medicine Lodge. I almost asked myself that same question. But then I remembered that our best friends live there!

John and Anna have been great friends for years. In fact, John and Matt have been best friends since high school. And we had gone too long without seeing them!

John and Anna have put a lot of work into their new rental home, and they've really made it a great, comfortable place. And the town's actually not too bad, as small Kansas towns go. I'm really glad that they seem so happy there, and I'll be glad to go back and visit as often as we can! (But it's your turn to come see us, guys!)

We spent a lot of time playing cards, and catching up. We manage to have fun together, even when we're not doing much.

John and Anna, and Skip-Bo.

John took the following picture. I think he did this on purpose.

This is the only picture of Matt and I at John and Anna's, and John ruined it. Oh, well!

I am much better at taking pictures.

Aww.

They're in the bathroom. I have no idea why. They must be doing "best friends" stuff.

Good times.

Tuesday afternoon, we were on our way back to good ol' AC. John and Anna followed us, and we had an awesome "AC Homies" reunion.

I guess now would be a good time to mention the weird, freakish relationship Matt has with his old high school buddies. There was a group of five of them that managed to stay crazy close years after high school. To explain the whole thing would take quite some time. But don't worry, I'm planning on writing some sort of movie about the whole thing someday (probably not really...). Lucky for me, all the guys' wives are also awesome. So we now have great group of friends.

Anyway, we hung out with all these crazy people. And it was cool.

You may recognize Dac and Alisha, from here.

The boys looked at funny things online.

While the girls chatted outside. Sadly, we were missing a wife.

Wednesday morning we made another trip to Jerry's. Some of the other guys wanted to go, and we just can't resist!

Delicious.

Lots of fun was had with our friends. But we were still only halfway through our vacation. It was on to Arkansas and my family's craziness. But we'll save that for later.

Love and Such

Well, we weren't able to take any crazy hikes this weekend because there aren't any giant mountains in the middle of Kansas. And we're in Kansas! Matt and I are taking a "vacation" to visit friends and family. Our trip started on Friday, as we made the eight hour drive to Matt's home town for the vow renewal of his brother and sister-in-law.

Scott and Kellie (yeah, her name is Kelly/ie, too) have been married for fifteen years, and they have two beautiful children. It was so great join with them in celebrating their love and life together.

The renewal was Saturday evening. Late in the afternoon, we headed over to the Chaplin Nature Center to get ready.

I helped Kellie do her hair, so I was able to sneak a before-the-ceremony picture.

The girls' Papa walked them down the aisle.

During the ceremony. The words they spoke to each other were not planned and straight from the heart. It made me a little teary.

Aww.

There was a nice reception following the ceremony, where they showed a slide show of their life together (so far).

They also had delicious cake and punch!

Matt and I at the reception.

It was really nice to see how much their love has grown. I can't wait to see what their family is like in another fifteen years.